SES Selects Arianespace for Launch of SES-17

SES has selected Arianespace to launch its high-power, high-throughput satellite SES-17 on an Ariane 5 in 2021 from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

Today the two companies made the announcement that SES has chosen Arianespace for the launch of SES-17, a powerful satellite delivering high-speed inflight connectivity and high-powered data services over the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean. SES-17 is the 53rd satellite entrusted to Arianespace for launch by SES.

Weighing more than six metric tonnes at launch, SES-17 will be among the 10 largest telecom satellites launched by Arianespace since the company’s founding. It is also the third all-electric satellite for which SES has chosen an Arianespace launch. The satellite built by Thales Alenia Space is fitted with an electric propulsion system for orbital positioning and station-keeping; its payload comprises 200 Ka-band spot beams; the orbital position of the spacecraft has not yet been disclosed.

Arianespace has orbited more than 550 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana in South America and Baikonur, Kazakhstan.